Man of Science, Man of Faith
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"Man of Science, Man of Faith" is the first episode of the second season of ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and the 26th episode overall. The episode was directed by Jack Bender and written by
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...
. It first aired on September 21, 2005, on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The flashbacks focus on
Jack Shephard Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Matthew Fox. ''Lost'' follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survi ...
's struggle to heal Sarah, who would later become his wife. In real time, John Locke and
Kate Austen Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. Character biography Prior to the crash Born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, Kate is the daughter of diner worker Dia ...
decide to enter the now-open hatch shaft. While writing the season premiere, the producers decided to pick up the hatch storyline which was left hanging after season one's finale "
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
", leaving the raft events to be explained in the following episode, " Adrift". "Man of Science, Man of Faith" received positive reviews, and stands as the most-watched episode of the series in North America, with 23.47 million viewers.


Plot


Introduction

A
man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
(
Henry Ian Cusick Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director. He is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in the ABC television series ''Lost'', for which he received a Prim ...
) wakes up from his
bunk bed A bunk bed is a type of bed in which one bed frame is stacked on top of another, allowing two or more beds to occupy the floor space usually required by just one. They are commonly seen on ships, in the military, and in hostels, Dormitory, dor ...
and immediately presses a few keys on what appears to be a late 1970s-era computer. He then gets dressed, and begins his day as the camera moves about the surrounding rooms, which contain an assortment of objects from the 1960s to the present. He puts on some
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, begins an exercise routine, has a shower, makes himself some breakfast, and injects himself with a vaccine. He is interrupted by an explosion, spurring the man to arm himself before using a telescope-and-mirror system. His gaze reveals the faces of
Jack Shephard Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Matthew Fox. ''Lost'' follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survi ...
(
Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned h ...
) and John Locke (
Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and '' Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', ...
) standing around the now-open Hatch shaft.


Flashbacks

Jack encounters his future wife, Sarah (
Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Prime ...
), who has arrived in his emergency room after a car crash. Jack saves Sarah's life, but goes on to tell her that due to
spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...
, it is unlikely that Sarah will regain the ability to walk. After being chastised by his
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
(
John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...
) about his pessimistic bedside manner, Jack operates on Sarah, and goes running a
tour de stade A tour de stade (, “tour of the stadium”) is a physical exercise in which a person runs up and down all the stairs in every section of a stadium. The practice is associated in particular with Harvard Stadium at Harvard University, where it has ...
. While running he falls, and meets another runner named Desmond, who tells him that he is training for a race around the world. Jack shares with Desmond how he failed Sarah, and Desmond advises him about his need to feel and provide more hope. When Jack returns to Sarah's room, he discovers that she has experienced a miraculous recovery.


On the island

At the Hatch entry, Locke says that they should not wait for the sun to come up to enter the Hatch. Jack, on the other hand, feels that their entry should be delayed. At the same time, at the caves,
Shannon Rutherford Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series ''Lost'', which chronicled the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon was introduced in the pilot episode as the ...
(
Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born ) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The Twilight Sa ...
) and
Sayid Jarrah Sayid Hassan Jarrah ( ar, سَعِيد حَسَّان جَرَّاح, ''Sa‘īd Ḥassān Jarrāḥ'') is a fictional character from the ABC show '' Lost'' portrayed by Naveen Andrews. Appearances Prior to the crash Sayid originally served as ...
(
Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
) search the jungle for
Walt Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt B ...
's (
Malcolm David Kelley Malcolm David Kelley (born May 12, 1992), sometimes credited as just Malcolm Kelley, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor best known for portraying the character Walt Lloyd on the ABC series '' Lost'' and as one half of the pop ...
) dog,
Vincent Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...
. During the search, Shannon has a vision of Walt, dripping wet and speaking incoherently. She talks about this with the rest of the survivors, but no one believes her. Upon reaching the caves, Jack explains the situation to the survivors, promising them they will be all right along with Kate, as long as they stay together. Locke then appears, carrying cable and saying he is going into the hatch. Soon after,
Kate Austen Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. Character biography Prior to the crash Born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, Kate is the daughter of diner worker Dia ...
(
Evangeline Lilly Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a ...
) follows behind him. While Locke is easing her down the shaft, Kate mysteriously disappears during a sudden burst of light from within the Hatch. Back at the caves, after informing the survivors why they went into the jungle and that Dr. Arzt (
Daniel Roebuck Daniel James Roebuck (born March 4, 1963) is an American actor and writer. His best known roles include Deputy Marshal Robert Biggs in ''The Fugitive'' and its spinoff film ''U.S. Marshals'', Jay Leno in ''The Late Shift'', and Dr. Leslie Arz ...
) is dead, Jack decides that he is going after Kate and Locke. Upon reaching the Hatch, he finds no one there and rappels down the shaft on his own. While exploring, he comes across a painted mural, and a wall where the key hanging around his neck is pulled by a strong
magnetic force In physics (specifically in electromagnetism) the Lorentz force (or electromagnetic force) is the combination of electric and magnetic force on a point charge due to electromagnetic fields. A particle of charge moving with a velocity in an e ...
. Finally, after being surprised by a bright light and loud music, he enters what appears to be an underground
geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic do ...
with computer equipment, including an
Apple II Plus The Apple II Plus (stylized as Apple ] or apple plus) is the second model of the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. It was sold from June 1979 to December 1982. Approximately 380,000 II Pluses were sold during its ...
computer with its Command line interface, prompt glowing and its shift key relabeled execute. As Jack is about to use it, Locke appears and tells Jack not to touch it. After Jack raises the gun and asks where Kate is, Locke is revealed to be at gunpoint. The gunman threatens that he will shoot Locke if Jack does not surrender. Jack refuses, instead taunting Locke about his destiny. Finally, the gunman steps out and Jack seems to recognize him. The gunman is Desmond.


Production

While "Man of Science, Man of Faith" alludes to a quote in the previous episode where Locke describes himself as a man of faith and Jack as a man of science, writer
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...
stated that the episode has the title to imply that Jack is both, with the flashback making the
empiricist In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
"man of science" facing a miracle while treating a patient. The episode was written to focus on the opening of the hatch, so the other
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
left in "Exodus", the destruction of
Michael's Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...
boat and the kidnapping of his son
Walt Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt B ...
by the Others, would be explained in the second episode, " Adrift". The cliffhanger also influenced the tone: the protagonists are expecting an attack by the Others, but the audience knows the Others are not coming since they were going for the boat instead. To make the episode accessible to new viewers, many instances of dialogue recap events of the first season. The producers decided to start the episode inside The Swan because they considered the audience would expect to pick up from Locke and Jack looking into the hatch shaft, so the opening instead is filmed in a place that does not reveal its location or period - director Jack Bender stated it made him remember a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
apartment - until the explosion of the hatch. For the flashbacks, Bender decided to avoid making the hospital scenes similar to '' ER'', filming mostly with handheld cameras to give a "spontaneous feel" to the scene. Sarah's operation was filmed in an actual surgery room in
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
, while Aloha Stadium in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
is used for Jack and Desmond's ''tour de stade''. Starting in this episode, the castaways start abandoning the caves, which the producers considered a location hard to film and "not aesthetically good". The Swan would become a centerpiece location because of its mysteries and the commodities given to the protagonists, such as electricity and food. The station was designed to invoke modernism of the 1970s, similar to how
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
's
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
evokes what was modern in the 1960s, but with an appearance that decayed after decades without maintenance. Foreshadowing the fact that the station is used for dangerous means, the design added the concrete wall with a magnetic force. The hatch shaft was completely computer generated with shots filmed using a
greenscreen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and displa ...
. This is the first episode to feature the song " Make Your Own Kind of Music" by
Mama Cass Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...
, which is heard in many later episodes. Lindelof picked the song as it reminded him of his childhood, as his mother "used to listen to on Sunday mornings, when she’d put on music, vacuum and cry." Lindelof also declared that the song "lyrically felt right", and had a haunting feeling due to Mama Cass' personal history. Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (January 6, 2006) "Official ''Lost'' Audio Podcast", ''
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
''. Retrieved on March 17, 2011.


Reception

The season premiere hit a ratings high for the series, with 23.47 million American viewers. The episode was third in the weekly audience ranking, behind ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' and '' Desperate Housewives'', and stands as the most watched episode of ''Lost''. Critical reviews were positive. Jeff Jensen of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' was frustrated at the episode not revealing what happened to the raft characters and unveiling of so many new mysteries, but liked the writing and symbolism considering that "the whole enigmatic enterprise seemed grounded in rich layers of meaning".
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
's Keith McDuffee said he was "held in suspense" throughout the episode. Chris Carabott of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
rated "Man of Science, Man of Faith" 9.3 out of 10, praising the flashbacks for being "edited incredibly well with the on island content" and
Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Prime ...
's performance as Sarah. ''
The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
s Maureen Ryan described the episode as "a wonderfully paced, terrific return to form". Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it considered the introduction in the hatch and Desmond's scene with Jack at the stadium to be the highlights of the season premiere. Director of photography Michael Bonvillain was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. From 1971 until 2008, all single-camera series competed together in a combined catego ...
for this episode.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
ranked "Man of Science, Man of Faith" the 18th best episode of ''Lost'', while a similar list by ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' ranked the episode 11th, saying it had the best Jack flashback and demonstrated "a show confident in itself and at the height of its powers".


References


External links


"Man of Science, Man of Faith"
at ABC * {{Lost episodes Lost (season 2) episodes 2005 American television episodes Television episodes written by Damon Lindelof